Tiles having a self-interlocking mechanism and the clamping structure thereof for use as a wall material or a floor material are disclosed Patent Documents 1, 2, 3, and 4.
The typical structure of the tile for use as a wall material is discussed herein. The conventional tile has rear projection portions (underlap portions) on the two sides of the rear surface thereof and front projection portions (overlap portions) on the other two sides of the front surface thereof. Furring strips are attached on a waterproof sheet on posts and intermediate posts erected at regular pitches, and a plurality of tiles arranged in an interlocking engagement are fixed onto backing materials (posts, intermediate posts, and furring strips) with nails. Thus, an external wall of a building is formed.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Gazette No. 54-55119    Patent Document 2: Japanese Utility Model Laid-open Gazette No. 7-71333    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-open Gazette No. 7-62830    Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-open Gazette No. 2003-20771